Western Washington

For the university, see Western Washington University.
Western Washington
Region
Country United States
State Washington
Part of Pacific Northwest
Borders on British Columbia, Western Oregon, Pacific Ocean, Cascade Range/Eastern Washington
Rivers Columbia River, Chehalis River, Puget Sound watershed (numerous)
Coordinates 47°30′N 122°0′W / 47.500°N 122.000°WCoordinates: 47°30′N 122°0′W / 47.500°N 122.000°W

Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, and the majority of the state's residents. The climate is generally far more damp and temperate than Eastern Washington.

Climate

It is known as being far wetter in climate than the eastern portion of the state, which is due in main to the effects of the Cascades rain shadow. The average place in Eastern Washington only receives an average of 46.87 centimeters (18.45 inches) of precipitation per year.[1] However, the average place in Western Washington receives an average of 167.72 centimeters (66.03 inches) of precipitation per year.[1] The average place in Western Washington gets 168 days of measurable precipitation per year.[2] The place that receives the most recorded precipitation is Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula with an average of 332.92 centimeters (131.07 inches) per year.[3] The place that gets the most days of measurable precipitation is the Long Beach Experimental Station with an average of 215 days of measurable precipitation per year.[2]

Population

In the 2010 census, Western Washington had a population of 5,229,486[4] out of the 6,724,540 in the entire state of Washington.[5] This makes the population comparable to that of Minnesota with a population of 5,303,925.[5] It has a land area of 24,742 square miles (64,080 km2), for a population density of 211.36 people per square mile (81.61 people per square kilometer).

Counties

Counties in Western Washington:

Cities of note

Major cities in Western Washington:[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/Climsmwa.html Western Regional Climate Data Center Website
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/wa/wa.01.html Western Regional Climate Data Center, Days of Precipitation
  3. ↑ http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa6864
  4. ↑ http://data.spokesman.com/census/2010/washington/counties/
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 See List of U.S. states and territories by population for the most recent state population figures.
  6. ↑ US Census Bureau for Washington